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Insights and Opinions From Analysts and Experts in More Than 20 Industries

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2018 was an impressive year for the U.S. fashion footwear market—its strongest performance in recent years—and most accessories categories saw improved sales results. Though at a slower pace, footwear’s momentum will likely continue, and the accessories market will continue to level out. The most significant trends to watch will be an amplification of the familiar, including athleisure, comfortability, online’s growth and social/environment concerns.

Fashion sneakers and boots are positioned to sell well this holiday season, as are the brands and retailers that speak to the consumer priorities of comfort, coziness, convenience and versatility. Beth Goldstein outlines the trends and her expectations for the footwear industry this holiday.

It’s been quite some time since Nordstrom announced that they were going to be opening their first Nordstrom Rack store in Canada; and since then, there has been significant buzz around when this was going to happen.

With four snowstorms hitting the Northeast in March, seasons are blurring as late winter/early spring is seemingly colder and snowier than ever. Contrary to early ads touting sandal weather, boot sales in March have grown the last two years, with the top growing cities being New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston.

I’m just a sample of one, but I witnessed what I thought to be healthy crowds at a suburban New York mall on Black Friday. I also heard from a few others (who braved outlet centers!) that cars were being turned away due to lack of available parking.

Those of you who have seen my presentations know that I use the occasional emoji in trying to make some of my points, channeling the primary communication style of my five-year-old daughter and pre-teen nieces.

In the mid-‘90s, as a junior in college, I asked my boyfriend, Ross, (now husband) to buy me shoes for our one-year anniversary, rather than roses. The pair in question: Steve Madden chunky black loafers.

In a recent blog I highlighted some of the major differences between Millennials and Generation Z. I get a lot of questions on how to understand the profile and values of Gen Z, and for brands and retailers it’s certainly necessary to understand this important next generation.

Contrary to the positive overall results we saw in the first quarter of 2015 and 2016, Q1 was a mixed bag that left the total U.S. athletic footwear market down 3 percent for the first three months of 2017.

Why should ugly sweaters and pajamas get all the attention? Holiday is a great opportunity to promote footwear as well. Almost one-quarter of annual, total footwear dollar sales are generated in November and December*, and for certain categories that percentage is steadily increasing. In addition, last month almost half of consumers reported that they planned to purchase footwear as a gift this holiday season**.

The hottest trend in the U.S. athletic shoe market right now is classic, or retro, footwear. The overall classics category is growing at a +29 percent pace for 2016 so far through October, according to retail sales data from The NPD Group – five percentage points greater than this time in 2015 and currently the strongest player in the athletic footwear market. While retro basketball shoes have been hot for more than a decade, retro running and retro tennis are now growing quickly as well.

Last holiday season was a particularly strong one for many major aspects of the sports business. There are several factors making this year’s challenging for the industry, but while this year won’t top last, I still expect a fair holiday performance for the world of sports retail.

U.S. athletic footwear results in Q3 were softer than they were in the first two quarters of the year, with dollar sales growing by only 2 percent for the quarter, compared to the mid-single digits for the first two quarters.